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International Cooperation

Some of the societal challenges or our time demands solutions from more than one country.  Moreover, for countries in the Baltic Sea Region and for Europe there is an increased competition from growth regions in other part of the world such as China. Countries such as Lithuania are relatively small and can gain by joining forces when it comes to innovation. Therefore the internationalization is a key success factor in worldwide competition and is therefore an important component of Lithuania’s innovation policy.

Lithuanian – Israel Bilateral Cooperation

The Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and the Government of the State of Israel on bilateral cooperation in private sector in industrial R&D was signed in 2010. According to this Agreement, both countries committed to undertake a sustained effort to promote, facilitate and support joint industrial R&D projects between businesses, corporations or entities from the two countries leading to commercialization in the global market. MATIMOP and Lithuanian Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA) have been nominated as implementing bodies from each side.

The main objectives of this Agreement are to promote the activities of both countries respective private sectors to intensify bilateral industrial R&D cooperation; to facilitate the identification of specific projects, partnerships or collaborations between entities from Lithuania and from Israel that could lead to industrial R&D cooperation; to coordinate and focus suitable government resources and programs to support industrial cooperation and commercial exploitation of R&D projects results; to give expression to the initiative by establishing a framework for financial support under which the Parties shall support jointly approved Industrial R&D cooperation projects between entities from the two countries leading to commercialization in the global market; to facilitate access to financial support for the agreed upon joint Industrial R&D cooperation Projects bewteen entities from the two countries.

Green Industry Innovation Programme

he Green Industry Innovation Programme is funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014, which aims to contribute to the sustainable social and economic growth in Lithuania. The Programme funds  are used to implement projects related to innovative environmental technologies and green products. Project assistance is granted under the Partnership Project scheme and the Small Project scheme. The budget of the Green Industry Innovation Programme totals EUR 9.4 million.

The initiative also seeks to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Lithuania and Norway.

The implementation of the Green Innovation Programme is administered by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation of the Republic of Lithuania along with Central Project Management Agency (CPMA). Innovation Norway, which is a business agency in Norway, is a donor partner to the Programme.

More information:  http://www.norwaygrants.lt/

The EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region

nnovation is of key importance to the Baltic Sea Region (BSR). As a driving force of increased prosperity, it is highly relevant to realising the potential of all of the 13 Policy Areas and 4 Horizontal Actions established by the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR). The EUSBSR that was launched by the European Union in 2009 as its first macro-regional strategy sets out three overall objectives: ‘Save the Sea’, ‘Connect the Region’, and ‘Increase Prosperity’.

The objective of Policy Area Innovation (PA-INNO) is to promote a globally competitive position within research and innovation for growth in the BSR. This will be achieved mainly by increasing innovation capacity and supporting entrepreneurship, business development, and science within the three drivers of innovation identified in this document: Market, Knowledge, and Challenges. Innovation is a hallmark of the region, and several of the region’s countries top the European and global rankings for innovation capacity. Key overarching guidelines include enhancing this strength, increasing its effectiveness in creating broadly shared economic value, and extending it to parts of the region that are lagging behind in innovation performance.

This Strategy Guide for the period 2016-2020 was developed through close dialogue with the PA-INNO Management Team assigned to the task. It draws on two transnational track reports on Transnational Digital Collaboration in the Baltic Sea Region and Clustering and SME-Development as well as on an online survey of EUSBSR member states on transnational digital collaboration in the BSR. The latter includes an annex on national profiles on digital policy for the Baltic Sea Region states.In addition, input was provided by all BSR member states prior to the Strategy Guide’s publication in September 2016 by the PA-INNO Steering Committee.
The aim of the Strategy Guide is to provide policymakers and innovation actors with guidance and inspiration for how best to utilise the EUSBSR so as to effectively achieve EU and joint national goals.

The monitoring guide for the implementation of this strategy connects the role of PA-INNO to specific targets.

The BSR Stars is a programme for Research & Innovation (R&I), Clusters and SME networks in the Baltic Sea Region. The objective of BSR Stars is to create a number of world-leading innovation hubs in the Baltic Sea region by fostering R&I and business-driven transnational collaboration between companies, strong R&I milieus, clusters and SME networks, in order to strengthen economic growth in the whole Baltic Sea region. BSR Stars will mobilize transnational cooperation between competences and actors in the Baltic Sea region in order to successfully address some of the grand societal challenges with expected large global market potentials. BSR Stars will, together with other networks, develop platforms where students, universities and companies can develop new products and services together with companies. The platform is an enabler for novel cross-border university-business cooperation to create real solutions to existing problems and challenges in the Baltic Sea region. BSR Stars focus on utilizing the regions smart specialization strategy combining research, innovation and cooperation, leading to capacity building, stronger international competitiveness, increase in foreign investments and world-class players in some strategic areas. The BSR Stars work to strengthen the co-operation in the region by development of methods for better exploiting the potential of innovative SMEs by connecting SME networks, mainly initiated at local/regional levels.

 In order to implement the Programme, ensure its continuity and proper use of accumulated experience and active co-operation Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Nordic countries are working as a team in the field of the Baltic States innovation needs. The in-kind resources from the Baltic states are hands-on engines for partnership search, project facilitators at their own respective countries and a push forward for more transnational projects coming into being with Baltic states participation. It supports the core activities in the Programme which are the transnational collaboration projects on innovation: strategic alliances, linking research & innovation milieus, transnational cluster cooperation and SME-networking.

BSR Stars will continue to mobilize actors via ‘BSR Innovation Express’ – a joint call to improve the internationalization of clusters and the SME network. This will enable cluster organizations and companies to access support for networking, business match-making and market research activities etc.

Priority Market List

  1. Objective of Update: Due to goals of diversification, shifts in foreign economic policy priorities, changes in global trade dynamics, value chain disruptions, and regional geopolitical influences, the Ministry of Economy and Innovation has updated its priority list for export markets and innovation cooperation.
  2. Data Sources: The list was compiled based on research by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), International Institute for Management Development (IMD), and other relevant indicators.
  3. Selection Criteria: The 32 priority markets for export and innovation cooperation were selected based on seven key criteria:
    • Global Innovation Index: Ranking of countries with a focus on enhancing partnerships with global innovation leaders.
    • Horizon 2020 Program Partnership: Number of joint projects between Lithuanian and foreign entities, aiming to strengthen collaborations in research and innovation.
    • Digital Competitiveness Index: Position of foreign countries in the index, with an emphasis on partnerships with leading countries in digitalization.
    • Foreign Direct Investment: Value of FDI from foreign entities in Lithuania, reflecting an intent to reinforce ties with countries viewing Lithuania as an economic partner.
    • Export Levels: Volume of Lithuanian exports to selected countries, aimed at bolstering cooperation with nations where Lithuania has established strong economic links.
    • Decision Support Model (DSM): A methodology that assists Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) in efficiently allocating resources to select priority export markets.
    • Business Survey: A survey conducted among business associations identifying key export markets.
  4. Purpose of the List: The list aims to bolster economic representation abroad, including the planning of initiatives, diplomatic visits, events, and targeted activities by the Innovation Agency. It also seeks to encourage business support measures such as:
    • Funding for international projects,
    • Development of international research, experimental development, and innovation infrastructure programs,
    • Acceleration activities,
    • Pre-incubation and incubation support,
    • Promotion of Lithuanian sectors in foreign markets,

Bilateral cooperation agreements with listed countries.

Last updated: 07-11-2024